WTF is MMA?

Not gonna be doing much LOL come October when I have my surgery. OMG.

The surgeon is going to be doing two things: Maxillomandibular Adjustment, or MMA.

The airway is, in essence, confined by the upper and lower jaws. By moving the upper jaw (maxilla) and lower jaw (mandible) forward, the entire airway can be enlarged.

Basically, they'll break both my upper and lower jaw, pull them both forward and reset them, thereby pulling my airway open to a more normal size.

They'll also be doing a Genioglossus Advancement, or a GA.

During genioglossus advancement surgery this small projection is moved forward and the tongue attachment is repositioned anteriorly so that it is less likely to collapse posteriorly and block the airway during sleep.

In English, this means they'll drill a hole in my chin, reach through, grab the tongue muscle, and literally pull it forward, again with the intent of further opening the airway.

Pros for this particular surgery:
* Less painful than alternative surgery
* Should lose about 20% of my body weight while jaw is healing
* Has a 90-95% succes rate, which means I should never require a CPAP again
* Should improve my fatigue, weight loss, clarity (depression?)

Uncertains:
* Will not be able to chew anything real for 6 weeks minimum, although I will not be resticted to a liquid diet
* Will literally change the way my face looks

Cons:
* Invasive, major surgery, and all that comes with that.
* May lose some jaw mobility post-surgery
* May have small numb spots on face (nerve damage)

But IMHO, I still think its worth it. Believe me, I wouldn't sign myself up for this if it wasn't. I'm definitely more nervous about my decision now that I have a date set, and of course I'm worrying about the numb spots and what I'll look like afterwards (oh please, let me not be any more 'unique' looking than I already am...) but again, I don't want to live like this for the next 60 years of my life. Let's git 'er done. **

Oh, and I am so hoping that this time next year I'll look back and be ROTFLMAO. Seriously.

**Surgery is scheduled for October so that I can complete my last quarter of school and graduate. (!!!!)